Adoption, gender, and same-sex couples: a study of attitudes

The current study sought to investigate the relationship between 1) gender and bias towards lesbian and gay couples adopting, 2) gender and bias towards gay couples adopting a boy or a girl, and 3) gender and bias towards lesbian couples adopting a boy or a girl. Research questions investigated a) the relationship between gender and adoption bias and b) the relationship between gender and bias towards gay men and lesbian women. The Attitudes Toward Same-Sex Couples as Adoptive Parents Scale (ATSCAP) assessed for bias towards lesbian and gay couples adopting. Lesbian Couples Sub-scale (LCS) measured bias towards lesbian couples adopting, and the Gay Couples Sub-scale (GCS) measured bias towards gay couples adopting. The Adoption Belief Scale (ABS) measured bias towards adoption and was used to rule out participants with greater bias towards adoption. The Modern Homonegativity Towards Gay Men (MHS-G) and Lesbians (MHS-L) measured bias towards gay and lesbian individuals. A total of 92 valid responses were used for this study (59 females and 33males). In this study we found no statistical differences between the aforementioned hypotheses. The only statistical difference found in this study occurred between gender and the MHS-G and MHS-L. Men reported greater bias than women towards gay and lesbian individuals. Independent sample t-test(s) were used to test the above hypotheses. Implications of the results, limitations and directions for future research are presented.